The international health insurance glossary
The terminology used in insurance is often technical. And international insurance companies have their own language, the terms of which can often be unfamiliar to most people.
To help you make an informed choice about your insurance, here are some definitions you should know.
COSTS: Total amount of medical expenses charged to you.
COUNTRY OF COVER/COVERAGE: Country or countries shown on your insurance certificate as the destination country and country of cover.
COUNTRY OF NATIONALITY: Country shown on your passport or on any other official identity document under the heading “nationality”.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Country of residence of the insured before their expatriation or their country of nationality, different from the country of expatriation.
DEDUCTIBLE: Fixed amount you will have to pay yourself before your insurance will pay for the rest of your care. If your policy has an annual deductible of €/$500 on the hospital cover, this means that in the event of hospitalisation, you will be responsible for the first €/$500, after which APRIL international will cover the remaining costs on the bill. If the deductible is annual, this amount renews itself every year, and you will be responsible for all costs up to the amount of the deductible. The deductible is an option that you can choose, and that allows you to reduce the amount of your insurance premium.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Date from which the policy starts, indicated by you on your application form. This can be found on your insurance certificate.
EXCLUDED COUNTRY: As a result of events taking place in certain countries or for regulatory reasons, the cover in these countries or zones of countries are excluded from the plan. The full list of excluded countries is available here. The list of excluded countries is subject to change.
EXCLUSIONS: What is not covered by your insurance policy. All covers have exclusions.
PRE-EXISTING CONDITION: Any medical condition, diagnosed, in the process of being diagnosed or symptomatic, of which you were aware, or could reasonably have been aware when enrolling in the policy.
PREMIUM: Also known as an “insurance premium”, this is the amount paid by the insured to benefit from the cover provided by APRIL International or any other insurance company. It can be a monthly, quarterly, or annual premium. The level of the insurance premium depends on many criteria, including the type of cover, the geographical region, your profile (age, gender, etc.), and more.
REQUEST FOR PRIOR AGREEMENT (RPA): Form to be completed by your doctor in order to obtain our prior agreement before beginning any treatment or procedures. A Request for Prior Agreement has to be completed if you are due to be admitted to hospital. This allows us to pay the covered hospital costs directly to the hospital so that you do not have to pay fees in advance.
WAITING PERIOD: Period of time during which benefits are not yet in force, often linked to specific conditions. The starting point of this period is the effective date indicated on your insurance certificate. Insurance policies often include a waiting period for dental or maternity benefits. Example: For maternity with a 12-month waiting period, you will be reimbursed for maternity-related expenses from 12 months after the date your policy takes effect.
